Bjork - Crystalline (Matthew Herbert Remixes)

Bjork - Crystalline (Matthew Herbert Remixes)
It doesn't really require much of an explanation as to why Herbert and Bjork are a good pairing. This is the third of four in the series of "Crystalline" singles, and Herbert leaves Bjork's vocal track nearly untouched. Her voice is captivating as usual, with lyrics about listening to crystals grow and other metaphors for the quirky lass's emotional epiphanies. Herbert's backing track is inventive and pretty, constructed from a jangling bag of coloured glass spheres. Distorted growls decorate the kicks rather than push them at you, and the way the whole thing bounces is odd, but persuasively dance-y. There are gentle chord changes in the plinks and plonks of the backing track which make an easy kind of sense, but it would be more compelling if it progressed somewhere more challenging and emotional. Nevertheless, this remix is an ornament: halfway between pleasant and lovely, and with plenty of detail and intrigue to keep you engaged.

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Matthew Herbert is a musician and producer working predominantly in the field of electronic music. Known for ignoring the boundaries and mangling the conventions traditionally associated with the genre, he is one of the few independently-minded artists..
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